Promotion
Sony's smartphone family gets a new addition: Xperia 1 VI with 85-170mm telephoto lens
15-5-2024
Translation: machine translated
Sony is advertising the successor to the Sony Xperia 1 V with innovative smartphone photography. The manufacturer is also ditching the unique display format.
Sony is emphasising an extended optical zoom in the new Xperia 1 VI. The manufacturer has also packed a new camera app and a new cooling method for the chip into the smartphone.
Source: Sony
Photography: new telephoto lens
The Sony Xperia 1 VI has a triple camera. The image sensor ("Exmor T") from last year is also installed here. According to Sony, it is particularly sensitive to light. Nevertheless, it had problems with image noise above ISO 800 in our test. Now an AI is supposed to provide a remedy, for example by cancelling out the image noise.
Source: Sony
The biggest innovation this time is the 85-170 mm telephoto lens. This corresponds to a 3.5x to 7.1x optical zoom. In last year's Xperia 1 V, the focal length ranged from 85 to 125 mm. However, the lens was not very sharp. According to the manufacturer, it should now be better. The telephoto camera is also suitable for macro photography. The different cameras of the Sony Xperia 1 VI at a glance:
The smartphone has the two standard focal lengths of 16mm and 24mm as well as 48mm.
With the help of optical stabilisation and autofocus with eye detection, you should be well equipped for portrait shots.
Display: ready film format
The previous Xperia models were each touted by Sony with a unique format: 21:9, which is suitable for streaming cinema films and makes multitasking clearer. According to Sony, however, the format was not well received by the masses. That is why the Xperia 1 VI now comes in a 19.5:9 format. The OLED display with a diagonal of 6.5 inches offers a rather modest resolution of 1080 × 2340 pixels. The adaptive refresh rate ranges from 1 to 120 hertz.
Source: Sony
The screen is said to be 1.5 times brighter than the previous model. The "Sunlight Vision" technology adapts the image to the sun's rays better than before. The Sony Xperia 1 VI is also said to be suitable as an additional display for Sony cameras.
Hardware: Snapdragon and improved heat dissipation
The Sony Xperia 1 VI is equipped with the latest and powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The chip produces a lot of heat, which can affect the overall performance of the smartphone. Sony wants to counteract this by installing an extended heat dissipation system and a so-called vapour chamber cooling system. A liquid is vaporised in this. This then condenses again and cools down the chip.
The performance is optimised so that the 5000mAh battery lasts up to two days. That is quite an achievement compared to other smartphones. Flagship devices have usually only lasted one day so far.
Source: Sony
If you don't like Bluetooth headphones, that's no problem: Sony provides the Xperia 1 VI with a jack connection. Otherwise, you also have stereo speakers at your disposal, which are installed at both short ends of the smartphone.
The Xperia 1 VI offers 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal memory. If that's not enough, you can insert a microSD - without the hassle of fiddling with tools: the card slot can be opened by hand.
Source: Sony
The Sonx Xperia 1 VI is unaffected by water. It has the two protection classes IP65 and IP68.
Software: video and photo app are combined
The Sony Xperia 1 VI comes with Android 14 ex works, with software updates for three years and security patches for four years. That is relatively weak. Manufacturer Samsung provides updates for up to five years, Google seven years and Fairphone even promises up to ten years of support. Five years of support is mandatory in the EU until the end of 2024, by which time Sony would have to give in at the latest.
At least the Japanese have packed some exciting apps into the Xperia 1 VI. The photo and video apps have now been merged into a single application. The user interface was previously reminiscent of Sony's Alpha series camera systems. At least in the pictures, it now looks a little different.
Source: Sony
With Sony BRAVIA, you can immerse yourself in Sony's world of film and watch all their cinema flicks in 4K quality. The streaming platform is free for one year after the initial registration.
The affordable version of the Xperia 1 VI: the Sony Xperia 10 VI
A reduced version of the Sony Xperia 1 VI is being launched at the same time as the Sony Xperia 10 VI. It is smaller, has less RAM and memory and a weaker chip. It also lacks the telephoto camera. Instead, it retains the 21:9 form factor of its predecessor series. The launch price of the Xperia 10 VI has fallen compared to its predecessor.
Price and availability
The Sony Xperia 1 VI and the Xperia 10 VI are now available for pre-sale and will be delivered from June.
The devices are available in the same three colours as last year: black, platinum silver and khaki. The recommended retail price for the Xperia 1 VI is 1399 francs or euros. For the Xperia 10 VI, it is 399 francs or euros. There is also a special promotion in Switzerland, where you can get the devices with free headphones from Sony.
Sony Xperia 1 VI
Sony Xperia 10 VI
In my world, Super Mario chases Stormtroopers with a unicorn and Harley Quinn mixes cocktails for Eddie and Peter at the beach bar. Wherever I can live out my creativity, my fingers tingle. Or maybe it's because nothing flows through my veins but chocolate, glitter and coffee.